1
00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:05,560
Speaker 1: Jay Z was at this time buying stuff from us,

2
00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:08,160
Speaker 1: and one day Biggie came in the store. He was

3
00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:11,760
Speaker 1: fifteen years old and he was another one of our

4
00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:16,160
Speaker 1: first customers. These kinds of stories are important because for

5
00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:20,360
Speaker 1: any aspiring entrepreneur, I credit a lot of my journey

6
00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,360
Speaker 1: to relationships, and I don't mean just texting and think.

7
00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:26,520
Speaker 1: You have to be courageous enough to live in your

8
00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:30,640
Speaker 1: discomfort zone, to invest into people and to look at

9
00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:31,400
Speaker 1: the long game.

10
00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:45,600
Speaker 2: Welcome to Ourdea Generations All Angles, a podcast about culture's

11
00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:50,080
Speaker 2: most influential brands and the teams that build. If you're

12
00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:53,720
Speaker 2: an entrepreneur, creative, or anyone interested in harnessing the power

13
00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,680
Speaker 2: of collaboration, join me Noah Callahan Bever each week as

14
00:00:57,720 --> 00:01:00,680
Speaker 2: we dissect the most dynamic companies in culture, because the

15
00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,640
Speaker 2: only way to truly understand success is to look at

16
00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:08,360
Speaker 2: it from all angles. Idea Generations All Angles is a

17
00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:15,440
Speaker 2: Will Packer Media podcast. In nineteen eighty eight, April Walker

18
00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,480
Speaker 2: opened Fashion and Effect, a custom clothing boutique for the

19
00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,440
Speaker 2: burgeoning hip hop audience in New York City. In the

20
00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:24,200
Speaker 2: years that followed, April would launch her own streetwear brand,

21
00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:27,840
Speaker 2: Walkerware and become a pop culture phenomenon, working closely with

22
00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:32,200
Speaker 2: a listers like the notorious Big Tupac and Shaquille O'Neill.

23
00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:34,920
Speaker 2: But just as Walkerware started to ascend from hip hop

24
00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:38,520
Speaker 2: staple to mainstream recognition, April made the shocking decision to

25
00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:41,759
Speaker 2: shut down the brand. On this week's episode of All Angles,

26
00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:45,640
Speaker 2: we talked to founder April Walker, assistant Miles Hopkins, lead

27
00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,120
Speaker 2: stylist and designer Gloria Sharubin, and head of marketing Kimmia

28
00:01:49,240 --> 00:01:52,000
Speaker 2: Range to hear the full story of how Walkerware became

29
00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:54,560
Speaker 2: the hottest streetwear of the nineties and how the brand

30
00:01:54,600 --> 00:01:58,880
Speaker 2: has re emerged today with a refreshed approach. But before

31
00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:01,600
Speaker 2: any of that happened, years before Mike Tyson would hit

32
00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:04,480
Speaker 2: the ring in Walkerwaar shorts or Tupac would fly her

33
00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,639
Speaker 2: out to la for an emergency video shoot, April Walker

34
00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,359
Speaker 2: was just a young kid moving to Harlem with her parents.

35
00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:16,360
Speaker 1: My childhood was very interesting. I had a different mix.

36
00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:21,799
Speaker 1: My mom is Mexican and Navajo, and my father is

37
00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:27,360
Speaker 1: black Cherokee and probably Heinez fifty seven. There's probably some

38
00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,280
Speaker 1: other things we don't know about, but it gave me

39
00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:31,560
Speaker 1: a unique Lens.

40
00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:33,840
Speaker 2: This is April Walker, founder of Walkerware.

41
00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:40,040
Speaker 1: My father his family is from Culpepper, Virginia, and my

42
00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:45,320
Speaker 1: father is an avid music lover and was part of

43
00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:48,200
Speaker 1: the music industry, but growing up he just had a

44
00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:52,000
Speaker 1: love for jazz and music and all the things in music.

45
00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:58,600
Speaker 1: My mom is from Colorado. She was very organized, very cerebral,

46
00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:03,240
Speaker 1: and just really really focused on creating a life for

47
00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:07,480
Speaker 1: us in stability. My father was going to a university

48
00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:12,000
Speaker 1: here in Colorado and my mom was from Colorado. Then

49
00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:14,760
Speaker 1: from there we went to La. From La, we went

50
00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,919
Speaker 1: to Harlem. We lived in Roxbury. We moved around because

51
00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:22,760
Speaker 1: my father was chasing those music dreams. As a result,

52
00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:28,800
Speaker 1: I got to see different backgrounds, different environments, and in

53
00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:32,120
Speaker 1: your formative years, those are everything. So I think it really,

54
00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:35,560
Speaker 1: you know, widened my scope, so to speak. And then

55
00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:37,880
Speaker 1: I think in terms of traits, I took a little

56
00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:40,200
Speaker 1: bit of both of them. Things you love and then

57
00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,240
Speaker 1: the things you don't. But I think in my DNA,

58
00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,680
Speaker 1: being as organized and as focused as possible is important,

59
00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:50,560
Speaker 1: and at the same time, creating is just in my

60
00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:55,400
Speaker 1: bones and just making and moving towards your dreams.

61
00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,000
Speaker 2: Creativity and organization serves as the two main pillars in

62
00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:02,440
Speaker 2: the Walker household. But then April's father opened her eyes

63
00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:04,600
Speaker 2: to another world, entrepreneurship.

64
00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,800
Speaker 1: My father was always finding ways to connect us with

65
00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:14,200
Speaker 1: the arts, whether it was dance lessons or music lessons

66
00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:18,080
Speaker 1: or acting lessons, all these different things that we grew

67
00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:22,480
Speaker 1: up participating in. And he always had these great cocomanni

68
00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:26,000
Speaker 1: ideas that were like, oh my god, so embarrassing as

69
00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:29,159
Speaker 1: a kid, but looking back in hindsight, I know he

70
00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:34,880
Speaker 1: was just trying to spark that imagination and create possibilities

71
00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,280
Speaker 1: in our minds. One year, it was the bi centennial.

72
00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,760
Speaker 1: It was huge. It was nineteen seventy six, I believe,

73
00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:46,159
Speaker 1: and it was two hundred years they were celebrating. My

74
00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:48,400
Speaker 1: father said, we're gonna make some shirts and go out

75
00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,280
Speaker 1: and sell them for the bi centennial. And I'm like,

76
00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,279
Speaker 1: how he said, We're going to create a design and

77
00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,880
Speaker 1: then we're gonna make it. So we actually did that.

78
00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:00,640
Speaker 1: We created a design that celebrated the bi centennial. And

79
00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:03,040
Speaker 1: then he took me and dragged me to Pearl Paint,

80
00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,719
Speaker 1: which was it's legendary in New York for any artist,

81
00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:10,919
Speaker 1: and it really just had everything in there that a

82
00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:14,120
Speaker 1: creator would want we picked out paints for the shirts,

83
00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,839
Speaker 1: we picked out colors, we actually had a silk screen

84
00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,880
Speaker 1: made with our design, and then we went home and

85
00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:23,840
Speaker 1: we stayed up all night and we actually made those shirts.

86
00:05:23,839 --> 00:05:26,800
Speaker 1: We bought the shirts. We actually had to use the

87
00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:32,880
Speaker 1: screegee and actually manufacture them by hand and make all

88
00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:36,440
Speaker 1: of these shirts. And then the next day we went

89
00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:40,359
Speaker 1: to the bi centennial and actually sold the shirts. And

90
00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:44,720
Speaker 1: as a kid, it was very jolting. It was very

91
00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:47,880
Speaker 1: kind of embarrassing because you know, you're doing something different.

92
00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,120
Speaker 1: No one else is out there doing that, they're enjoying it,

93
00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:52,760
Speaker 1: and you're out there hustling, so to speak. But what

94
00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,240
Speaker 1: it did would show us shewed me because we sold

95
00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:58,760
Speaker 1: all the shirts and I remember him like with a

96
00:05:58,839 --> 00:06:01,160
Speaker 1: wide showing it to me, like you see this, this

97
00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,880
Speaker 1: is what you just did. That always stuck with me.

98
00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,240
Speaker 2: April went on to college, but the creativity instilled in

99
00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:09,400
Speaker 2: her by her parents and the idea that she could

100
00:06:09,400 --> 00:06:12,279
Speaker 2: make a living from her own creations would supersede anything

101
00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:13,599
Speaker 2: that she could learn in the classroom.

102
00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,080
Speaker 1: By the time I got to college, I knew I

103
00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,520
Speaker 1: didn't want to work for someone else, but I didn't

104
00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:20,640
Speaker 1: know what it would be. I was going to school

105
00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:23,719
Speaker 1: for business and communications, and one time I thought I

106
00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:26,840
Speaker 1: might be a broadcaster. I wasn't sure. I was definitely

107
00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,839
Speaker 1: interested in electronic media, so I was taking some courses

108
00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:35,440
Speaker 1: there as well. But I was always innately into fashion.

109
00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:38,320
Speaker 1: I never owned it, but looking back, there were clues.

110
00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:43,720
Speaker 1: I want, you know, best dressed, saved all my tags

111
00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:46,120
Speaker 1: and would put them on the wall, and all of

112
00:06:46,160 --> 00:06:49,880
Speaker 1: these things. I was different. I would try something different

113
00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,440
Speaker 1: in fashion ever since I can remember.

114
00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:57,200
Speaker 2: April's pulled towards entrepreneurship naturally led her interest in college

115
00:06:57,200 --> 00:06:57,480
Speaker 2: to win.

116
00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,919
Speaker 1: I was in my junior year in college and I

117
00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,400
Speaker 1: basically told my dad that I don't want to go

118
00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,159
Speaker 1: back to school. And he looked at me and he

119
00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:10,920
Speaker 1: was taken aback, and he said, why you know? And

120
00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:13,480
Speaker 1: I pointed to this girl that was on the phone booth.

121
00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:15,240
Speaker 3: She was in a phone booth and she had on

122
00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:20,320
Speaker 3: like some big ear rings and bamboos, and her jacket

123
00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:25,200
Speaker 3: was all studed up and crystals and writing all over.

124
00:07:25,200 --> 00:07:27,680
Speaker 1: It was really cool. I said, that's what I want

125
00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:30,920
Speaker 1: to do. And he said to me, not too long ago,

126
00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:33,160
Speaker 1: he told me this story, and he was like, I

127
00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,320
Speaker 1: looked at that Jackson, and I was like, that's whack.

128
00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:40,400
Speaker 1: But I didn't say it out loud. He said, but

129
00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:43,360
Speaker 1: I thought it, but I couldn't say it because who

130
00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:45,760
Speaker 1: was I, you know, because he was a creator too,

131
00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:47,760
Speaker 1: so he supported me on it.

132
00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,080
Speaker 2: I think the support of her father was massive, but

133
00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:56,560
Speaker 2: an encounter with a one of a kind fashion icon

134
00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:58,239
Speaker 2: would be the turning point for April.

135
00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:02,000
Speaker 1: One night, I was at the Powow Theater and after

136
00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:04,600
Speaker 1: my friends and I we walked over to Deva Danda.

137
00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:08,400
Speaker 1: It was this Willy Wonka for me, a fabulosity of

138
00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,679
Speaker 1: everything that wasn't being created in the stores for us,

139
00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:14,280
Speaker 1: and he was doing these one of the cons that

140
00:08:14,360 --> 00:08:18,000
Speaker 1: were incredible, that was speaking to my tribe, my culture,

141
00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,680
Speaker 1: and I wanted in. You know, at that time, the

142
00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:27,320
Speaker 1: world was very different and I was very much still Brooklyn.

143
00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:32,240
Speaker 1: I hadn't seen the whole world, so Burrows were everything

144
00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:35,400
Speaker 1: to me. You know, you had all these pockets. I

145
00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:37,600
Speaker 1: just wanted to rep for Brooklyn at that moment and

146
00:08:37,640 --> 00:08:41,360
Speaker 1: create for my tribe, and so successfully is Clues and

147
00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:44,800
Speaker 1: that's what happened. I reverse engineered into it from the

148
00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:48,959
Speaker 1: north Star of hip hop, and I started creating things

149
00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,959
Speaker 1: that spoke to me that I felt the music was there,

150
00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,440
Speaker 1: but we didn't have the uniforms, and I just wanted

151
00:08:55,440 --> 00:08:57,840
Speaker 1: to create what I was feeling and pour that out.

152
00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:03,880
Speaker 2: With a spark of inspiration from Dapper Dain and the

153
00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,600
Speaker 2: unwavering support of her father, April decided to leave school early,

154
00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:10,480
Speaker 2: and even though she had two secure job opportunities in

155
00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:13,200
Speaker 2: front of her, April instead opted to sign a lease

156
00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:15,440
Speaker 2: on a small retail space for seven hundred and fifty

157
00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,560
Speaker 2: dollars a month and to start her own brand.

158
00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:20,920
Speaker 1: I got called for two state jobs, I think while

159
00:09:20,920 --> 00:09:23,720
Speaker 1: I was in college. I applied for. One was the

160
00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,839
Speaker 1: fire department, another one was corrections. I got called right

161
00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:30,080
Speaker 1: when I was signing the lease, and I remember my

162
00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:35,000
Speaker 1: mom was so destroyed because those were considered good jobs.

163
00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:38,000
Speaker 1: Everybody thought I was crazy, except for my dad. I

164
00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,280
Speaker 1: remember one time in the beginning going to the fashion

165
00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:43,880
Speaker 1: industry and getting a role of fabric, and I can

166
00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:47,160
Speaker 1: remember us being on the train carrying a big role

167
00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:51,679
Speaker 1: of fabric home. So he was always like cheerleading.

168
00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,600
Speaker 2: As April started her boutique fashion in effect, she knew

169
00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:58,760
Speaker 2: hip hop would be her north star and set out

170
00:09:58,800 --> 00:09:59,839
Speaker 2: to build a wardrobe for the co.

171
00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:03,800
Speaker 1: The magnet was hip hop and our little shot Fashion

172
00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:06,600
Speaker 1: and Effect was literally a hole in the wall that

173
00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:09,720
Speaker 1: we created with a homemade signs. We didn't have money

174
00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,600
Speaker 1: for a sign, so we made our own sign. We

175
00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:15,080
Speaker 1: went back to our Pearl paints and we got this

176
00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:18,880
Speaker 1: phone board. It was maybe We made it about six feet,

177
00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,840
Speaker 1: We connected it. We painted it Fashion and Effect with

178
00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:22,360
Speaker 1: like this.

179
00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:29,000
Speaker 4: I druid this like graffitiish style and colors neon colors,

180
00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:33,520
Speaker 4: and we hung it up over the glass storefront and

181
00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:38,240
Speaker 4: in the storefront we would hang up different airbrush, sweatshirts,

182
00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:39,880
Speaker 4: different cool outfits that.

183
00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:40,560
Speaker 1: We were making.

184
00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:44,600
Speaker 2: April started to buy fabrics, textiles, and machinery needed for

185
00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:47,520
Speaker 2: her cutt and sew operation and recruited other creatives to

186
00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:48,880
Speaker 2: help bring her vision to life.

187
00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:53,360
Speaker 1: We amassed a tribe of like minds. And with those

188
00:10:53,559 --> 00:10:56,560
Speaker 1: like minds, I think when your passion is fueling you

189
00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:00,800
Speaker 1: so so much, you can figure out the rest because

190
00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:02,960
Speaker 1: you can look at models that created. And while we

191
00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,480
Speaker 1: didn't have any models there in what we were doing,

192
00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,320
Speaker 1: we did have Dapper Dan. So I knew, Okay, I

193
00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:11,880
Speaker 1: have to buy jukie machines and I have to buy

194
00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:15,720
Speaker 1: industrial singer machines, and then the rest was just figure

195
00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,240
Speaker 1: it out. So there was the New York Times would

196
00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:22,160
Speaker 1: have a liquidation section. That's how I got my singers

197
00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,000
Speaker 1: and my jokies because I couldn't afford that out the box.

198
00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:29,720
Speaker 1: And then I created a cutting table. But that was

199
00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:34,720
Speaker 1: literally like putting a big piece of wood and polishing

200
00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:38,200
Speaker 1: it and stabilizing that, and that became our cutting table

201
00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:42,160
Speaker 1: and just really figuring it out and making something out

202
00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:44,080
Speaker 1: of nothing. That's exactly what we did.

203
00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:47,120
Speaker 2: April started creating and selling one of a kind statement

204
00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,640
Speaker 2: pieces right there in her shop. In addition to being

205
00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:53,080
Speaker 2: her production facility in retail space, Fashion Effect also became

206
00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:54,520
Speaker 2: a staple hangout in Brooklyn.

207
00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:57,040
Speaker 1: When you came in the store and then entry way

208
00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:01,439
Speaker 1: to your right would have one wall that had a

209
00:12:01,559 --> 00:12:04,360
Speaker 1: big dog on it with the hat to the back

210
00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:09,079
Speaker 1: that said FIE, which stood for Fashion and Effect, and

211
00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:11,440
Speaker 1: then he had a big clock on that said don't

212
00:12:11,480 --> 00:12:14,600
Speaker 1: believe the hype. The dog the had gold teeth in

213
00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:18,000
Speaker 1: his mouth like it was a whole vibe. And when

214
00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,160
Speaker 1: you came in, we had Marcus and you had to

215
00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:22,640
Speaker 1: tag your name on the wall. So at one point

216
00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:25,920
Speaker 1: the whole wolf was tagged up around this dog, and

217
00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:30,520
Speaker 1: then to your left when you came in was a

218
00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:35,320
Speaker 1: actual cool sofa that we made. And then we had

219
00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:38,760
Speaker 1: these showcases that we got from liquidation and we would

220
00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,400
Speaker 1: have beeper covers and little trinkets that you could buy.

221
00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:47,000
Speaker 1: So for the people that couldn't afford something really expensive,

222
00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:51,480
Speaker 1: we had low hanging fruit and spontaneous purchases in the front.

223
00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,160
Speaker 1: But we didn't know that was the terminology. Then we

224
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,640
Speaker 1: just knew we had to pay our rent, so we

225
00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:01,120
Speaker 1: had to figure how different way to do that. So

226
00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:04,160
Speaker 1: we were like, everyone can't afford in a suit for

227
00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:07,720
Speaker 1: X amount. We made fashion and effect T shirts as well,

228
00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:10,480
Speaker 1: and we sold those and that those had the dog

229
00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:11,040
Speaker 1: on it.

230
00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,000
Speaker 2: With a store on Point, April expanded her team of

231
00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:16,920
Speaker 2: creatives to help produce bold and beautiful pieces that would

232
00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:18,760
Speaker 2: become synonymous with nineties hip hop.

233
00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,800
Speaker 1: I had a great, amazing artist named Linda Avery. She

234
00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:26,480
Speaker 1: was from Pittsburgh. She actually came up and stayed with

235
00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,280
Speaker 1: us and started doing the acrylic painting in the air brushing.

236
00:13:30,679 --> 00:13:33,960
Speaker 1: And then we had someone who worked with us. His

237
00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:37,560
Speaker 1: name was Woody and he worked with shirt Kings as well,

238
00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:40,640
Speaker 1: and he was doing a lot of airbrushing for us

239
00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:45,280
Speaker 1: as well. We also borrowed a few of Dapper Dane's tailors,

240
00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:49,760
Speaker 1: and so we had tailors that already understood the culture

241
00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,680
Speaker 1: and were able to make leather or dentim or whatever

242
00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:55,520
Speaker 1: we needed. And it was great because they were able

243
00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:58,679
Speaker 1: to teach me as I was learning. I knew business,

244
00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:00,920
Speaker 1: and I knew how to go get sales, but I

245
00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:05,080
Speaker 1: didn't understand everything needed. Like at first my needles were

246
00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:08,120
Speaker 1: breaking a lat because I had the wrong needles and machines,

247
00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:13,400
Speaker 1: all these little things. Help having someone that was experienced

248
00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,720
Speaker 1: to make the things that were in our heads and

249
00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:18,520
Speaker 1: pour it out into the world.

250
00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,560
Speaker 2: Slowly but surely, Fashionate and effect became the place to

251
00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:24,440
Speaker 2: be with a team of creatives in place. April also

252
00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:27,200
Speaker 2: started recruiting assistants and other local kids to help her

253
00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,680
Speaker 2: out and began another crucial part of her story, mentorship.

254
00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,840
Speaker 5: I started working with April as her assistant. April has

255
00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:38,000
Speaker 5: this way of kind of like getting everybody involved in

256
00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:39,200
Speaker 5: every part of the business.

257
00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,880
Speaker 2: This is Gloria Shrubin, once April's assistant and eventually one

258
00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:44,520
Speaker 2: of her lead stylist and designers.

259
00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:47,920
Speaker 5: She was a great teacher in that respect and just

260
00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:51,000
Speaker 5: kind of like schooling me and just grooming me for

261
00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:55,720
Speaker 5: the apparel industry and just really kind of understanding what

262
00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:59,200
Speaker 5: it is to build a brand, brand management. I've always

263
00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:02,240
Speaker 5: been this kind of like a low key fashionista, really

264
00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:06,160
Speaker 5: into just like design and fashion and just style and wardrobing.

265
00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,080
Speaker 5: April was like a family friend, so I kind of

266
00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:11,720
Speaker 5: grew up under her tutelage for years, just kind of

267
00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:15,840
Speaker 5: watching her develop her business. In my old personal journey,

268
00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:19,120
Speaker 5: I was actually in undergrad studying to.

269
00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:19,880
Speaker 1: Go to law school.

270
00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:22,280
Speaker 5: I got my degree in political science. You know, I

271
00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,400
Speaker 5: had these dreams and aspirations of being an attorney. I

272
00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:27,480
Speaker 5: just wanted, as a young black female coming out of

273
00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:29,120
Speaker 5: the hood, just I wanted an industry that was going

274
00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:30,120
Speaker 5: to make me a lot of money.

275
00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:31,680
Speaker 6: That was really my attitude.

276
00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:34,720
Speaker 5: And you know, law was what seemed like the best

277
00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:36,560
Speaker 5: thing for me because everyone was like, you talk well,

278
00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:40,320
Speaker 5: you know, you argue, well, you are a great liar.

279
00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:45,160
Speaker 5: So and you know, I had a knack for school

280
00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,600
Speaker 5: was really easy for me, reading a lot of books

281
00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:50,960
Speaker 5: on policy size, really a lot of study around history.

282
00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:54,440
Speaker 6: But in my last year, unfortunately I lost my mom.

283
00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,800
Speaker 5: In undergrad and I'd worked through school anyway, so I

284
00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:02,120
Speaker 5: was always working. April was like, hey, you know you

285
00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,600
Speaker 5: should come work for me. You know, you got a

286
00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:07,440
Speaker 5: lot of swag and style, you know what I'm saying.

287
00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:09,080
Speaker 5: I like the way you put things together just to

288
00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:10,680
Speaker 5: really be a great learning experience.

289
00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:14,680
Speaker 6: So I was like, okay, cool. You know, I definitely

290
00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:15,640
Speaker 6: loved what she did.

291
00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:18,160
Speaker 5: Loved just kind of being around and had the ability

292
00:16:18,160 --> 00:16:21,800
Speaker 5: and access because you know, I gotta hung out with her.

293
00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,240
Speaker 6: Little sisters and we were just all kind of friends.

294
00:16:25,800 --> 00:16:28,360
Speaker 2: As Gloria found her role on the team, April empowered

295
00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:31,120
Speaker 2: her and looked to Gloria's youthful perspective to lead the

296
00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:32,240
Speaker 2: way on projects.

297
00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:34,960
Speaker 5: Day one was herd just kind of like grooming me

298
00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:37,920
Speaker 5: and teaching me how to just kind of like understand

299
00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:40,440
Speaker 5: what she needed me to do. I remember her taking

300
00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:43,560
Speaker 5: me to the garment district and at that time, you

301
00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:45,800
Speaker 5: could swatch fat and she was just like, I want

302
00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:49,000
Speaker 5: anything that stands out to you for you to grab now.

303
00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,640
Speaker 5: Mind you, I have no background, no formal training in

304
00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:54,560
Speaker 5: anything fash I just know how to wear a flashit.

305
00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:56,600
Speaker 6: I'm a big brand or you know what I'm saying.

306
00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:57,760
Speaker 6: From a thousands.

307
00:16:57,800 --> 00:16:59,360
Speaker 5: I felt like I had that, but I just felt

308
00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:01,000
Speaker 5: it was something that was and anything that I was

309
00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:03,480
Speaker 5: trained I with, which is something that I was just

310
00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:04,679
Speaker 5: naturally gifted with.

311
00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:08,240
Speaker 6: So her identified that. She she puts me in the

312
00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:09,320
Speaker 6: stores for hours.

313
00:17:09,320 --> 00:17:11,840
Speaker 5: I'm going through all this fabrics, watching all this stuff,

314
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:13,920
Speaker 5: and we finally get back to the office. She had

315
00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:18,440
Speaker 5: like stacks of magazines, every WWD, every GQ, everything anything

316
00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,240
Speaker 5: you can think of, just like high fashion magazines. So

317
00:17:21,320 --> 00:17:23,000
Speaker 5: this she's like, I want you to go through these

318
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:28,080
Speaker 5: magazines and attack the fabric that you picked to some

319
00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:31,160
Speaker 5: of the looks that were in the magazines, Like so

320
00:17:31,359 --> 00:17:34,040
Speaker 5: I can kind of like identify what fabrics would work

321
00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:37,919
Speaker 5: well with what designs. I did this for hours, but

322
00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,040
Speaker 5: it was such a great path because it forced me

323
00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:44,359
Speaker 5: to kind of see what she saw. Because from that

324
00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,520
Speaker 5: point on, my main focus in work was always to

325
00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:50,639
Speaker 5: kind of like work with her clients in like the

326
00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,880
Speaker 5: sales capacity. She had like these great books that were

327
00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:56,680
Speaker 5: filled with silhouettes and designs or options that they had,

328
00:17:56,720 --> 00:17:58,639
Speaker 5: and then it was like these watchbooks of just all

329
00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:01,200
Speaker 5: these different fabrics. So my job would be to sit

330
00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:03,560
Speaker 5: with the client and allow them to mix and match.

331
00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,399
Speaker 5: So this task of just kind of like, you know,

332
00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:08,840
Speaker 5: seeing it that she would critique it, well, why would

333
00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:09,159
Speaker 5: you put this?

334
00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:09,800
Speaker 1: You know?

335
00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,120
Speaker 6: It was it was really a learning experience. It grew

336
00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:13,040
Speaker 6: me for that role.

337
00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:16,760
Speaker 2: As Fashion and Effect continued to make a name for itself,

338
00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:18,960
Speaker 2: a placement on an album cover was about to take

339
00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:21,560
Speaker 2: the business to a whole nother level and open additional

340
00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:22,720
Speaker 2: revenue streams.

341
00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,800
Speaker 1: So with Fashion and Effect, it literally became this best

342
00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:30,840
Speaker 1: kept secret that finally wasn't a secret. You know. We

343
00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:35,960
Speaker 1: were making a lot of clothes, and we were making

344
00:18:35,960 --> 00:18:39,280
Speaker 1: them to the point where one day Audio two came

345
00:18:39,359 --> 00:18:42,000
Speaker 1: in the store and they wanted outfits made for their

346
00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:44,919
Speaker 1: next album cover, and they wanted somebody from Brooklyn to

347
00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:47,400
Speaker 1: make them, and they asked if I could make them,

348
00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:51,719
Speaker 1: and I said sure, fingers crossed behind my back, you know.

349
00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:55,800
Speaker 1: But it worked out, and that album cover was I

350
00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,960
Speaker 1: Don't Care and it was a crashed up Benz And

351
00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,120
Speaker 1: they had outfits and they did some turke Kings, did

352
00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:05,320
Speaker 1: some artwork from one of the moment I did the suits,

353
00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:09,760
Speaker 1: and that was the start of it. Then they came

354
00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,120
Speaker 1: back and they asked you style a video. I had

355
00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:17,080
Speaker 1: no experience in styling. But I found out what styling was.

356
00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:19,479
Speaker 1: I told them I could do the video, and I

357
00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:22,280
Speaker 1: did a video, and from that video, I created a

358
00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,679
Speaker 1: new revenue stream. And I said, this is going to

359
00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:28,560
Speaker 1: be another revenue stream for us, and I created a

360
00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:33,280
Speaker 1: styling division. So from that we started styling.

361
00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:38,560
Speaker 2: However, April's rise was anything but straightforward. Breaking into any

362
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,160
Speaker 2: market is hard, but even more challenging as a young

363
00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:43,720
Speaker 2: black woman in a male dominated industry.

364
00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:47,080
Speaker 1: A lot of companies were afraid of a very young person.

365
00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,320
Speaker 1: And at that time I was hip hop out and

366
00:19:50,440 --> 00:19:54,720
Speaker 1: I was twenty one, and I was a woman, and

367
00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:58,840
Speaker 1: being a young woman in an all male dominated industry

368
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:03,400
Speaker 1: was a lot different. And then I was blexicin so

369
00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:06,680
Speaker 1: I didn't really look like the norm of the fashion

370
00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:11,120
Speaker 1: industry or speak that language. So that was another factor, right.

371
00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:16,879
Speaker 1: What I didn't I was naive to fear and it

372
00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:20,879
Speaker 1: served me well because I never thought this isn't going

373
00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:23,119
Speaker 1: to happen. It was like, it will happen.

374
00:20:24,119 --> 00:20:27,200
Speaker 2: April did break through and in a big way. Soon

375
00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:29,480
Speaker 2: Fashion and Effect became the place for up and coming

376
00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,040
Speaker 2: rappers to get custom outfits, and the who's who of

377
00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:34,359
Speaker 2: New York hip hop would seek out April for their fits.

378
00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:38,960
Speaker 1: I'm always looking for ways to expand my spider web

379
00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:43,040
Speaker 1: or be the octopus, because I understand that, you know,

380
00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:45,520
Speaker 1: this is a foundation, but we have to have different

381
00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:48,720
Speaker 1: tentacles in order to grow. So as long as it's

382
00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:51,400
Speaker 1: coming from the same base and we can handle it.

383
00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,640
Speaker 1: And that was unnatural to me because it allowed us

384
00:20:54,680 --> 00:20:59,480
Speaker 1: not only to style other artists, but to become bigger

385
00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:05,320
Speaker 1: with marketing using a bullhorn by artists working with artists,

386
00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:08,600
Speaker 1: and so now they became our tribe and so to speak.

387
00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:13,439
Speaker 1: And they were telling two people right. Jay Z was

388
00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:17,280
Speaker 1: at this time buying stuff from us and Jazz and

389
00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:22,719
Speaker 1: then Shaggy and shine Head. Those were two big artists

390
00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,639
Speaker 1: from Brooklyn. And one day Biggie came in the store.

391
00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:29,280
Speaker 1: He was fifteen years old and he was another one

392
00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:33,080
Speaker 1: of our first customers. He saw Rabi and rock Keemp

393
00:21:33,119 --> 00:21:36,520
Speaker 1: shirt and Houdini shirt that we airbrushed in the window

394
00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:39,960
Speaker 1: and stopped. And I'd see him in the neighborhood because

395
00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,760
Speaker 1: we lived in the same neighborhood. I'd see him hanging out,

396
00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:45,240
Speaker 1: but I didn't know him, just to give each other

397
00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:47,720
Speaker 1: not But when he came in to story recognized me

398
00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:50,960
Speaker 1: and he asked, is this your shop? And it marked

399
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:54,760
Speaker 1: a conversation and I found out he was into music,

400
00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:58,000
Speaker 1: and you know, we just started talking about all things

401
00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:01,240
Speaker 1: hip hop and that became our into section. He was

402
00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:05,120
Speaker 1: always calm, collective, but he was witty, He was funny,

403
00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:09,879
Speaker 1: and he always made you feel like family. You know.

404
00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,119
Speaker 1: He was just really cool. He was cool with everybody.

405
00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:16,560
Speaker 1: He had a charisma about him that was special. He

406
00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:18,960
Speaker 1: also was like you knew like you didn't want to

407
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,159
Speaker 1: mess with Biggie, you know what I mean at the

408
00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:24,360
Speaker 1: same time because of his tribe, but he never gave

409
00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,000
Speaker 1: that off. It was just like you just knew he

410
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,719
Speaker 1: was from Brooklyn, and Brooklyn was different, you know what

411
00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,679
Speaker 1: I mean. But he was a good he was He

412
00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,320
Speaker 1: was a really nice guy. He was super talented, super

413
00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:40,920
Speaker 1: focused and confident and when he signed to that boy,

414
00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:44,640
Speaker 1: he never forgotten was You know, these kinds of stories

415
00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:49,240
Speaker 1: are important because for any aspiring entrepreneur, young person or

416
00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:52,600
Speaker 1: entrepreneur that's out there. I credit a lot of my

417
00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:56,840
Speaker 1: journey to relationships, and I don't mean just texting. I

418
00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:59,080
Speaker 1: think you have to be courageous enough to live in

419
00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:03,240
Speaker 1: your discomfort zone to invest into people and to look

420
00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:06,120
Speaker 1: at the long game. And so a lot of these

421
00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,120
Speaker 1: artists that are mega artists right now were not then.

422
00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:12,440
Speaker 1: Like Biggie didn't even have a deal. You know, he

423
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:15,760
Speaker 1: was fifteen, he had a dream, but I saw how

424
00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:18,800
Speaker 1: gifted he was and I believed in him. You know.

425
00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:23,040
Speaker 1: So I think that when you're authentic and you really

426
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,080
Speaker 1: believe in someone and they believe in you, as you rise,

427
00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:27,280
Speaker 1: you rise together.

428
00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:35,760
Speaker 5: April was really iconic in what I would always refer

429
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:39,840
Speaker 5: to as brand leveraging, you know, really knowing how to

430
00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:42,840
Speaker 5: see what was coming up next in the hip hop industry,

431
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:45,679
Speaker 5: who the talent was, and really building her product on

432
00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:49,560
Speaker 5: them to build more notoriety for her brand, whether it

433
00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:53,199
Speaker 5: was run DMC, was Biggie, it was pop. You know,

434
00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:56,600
Speaker 5: really knowing where to be, how to be and really

435
00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:59,080
Speaker 5: kind of getting that product in those places was really

436
00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:00,399
Speaker 5: her art to me.

437
00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,000
Speaker 2: After its first year, Fashion and Effect was still in business,

438
00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:06,840
Speaker 2: which was a big win for April and her team,

439
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,160
Speaker 2: but the margins that come with custom work are thin,

440
00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:12,159
Speaker 2: and Fashion Effect was far from being really profitable.

441
00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:17,720
Speaker 1: I think that first year, like none of us were

442
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,520
Speaker 1: getting paid. It was shoe string, But I remember the

443
00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,239
Speaker 1: first year, I found some books and I think we

444
00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,840
Speaker 1: made like maybe eighty We made eighty something thousand the

445
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,760
Speaker 1: first year, and that was like huge for me because

446
00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:32,159
Speaker 1: that was back in the day, and we made a

447
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:36,159
Speaker 1: lot of mistakes that first year, so it encouraged me

448
00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:37,440
Speaker 1: to do the second year.

449
00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,120
Speaker 2: As April continued to grow fashion and effect land placements

450
00:24:41,119 --> 00:24:43,760
Speaker 2: with celebrities and style artists, she realized that the one

451
00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,280
Speaker 2: of a kind business model was very limiting and to

452
00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:49,280
Speaker 2: truly expand she would need her own branded clothing line.

453
00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:53,159
Speaker 1: I think that what we noticed was some of the artists,

454
00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:55,600
Speaker 1: some of our customers would come in and ask for

455
00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:59,440
Speaker 1: the things that we were making for the artists in videos.

456
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,199
Speaker 1: So we knew, okay, we have something because he did

457
00:25:03,320 --> 00:25:06,280
Speaker 1: the same things we made this rough and rugged suit.

458
00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:09,639
Speaker 1: It was a heavy denim suit that we made, and

459
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,480
Speaker 1: we were doing a lot of experimenting at that time

460
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:15,000
Speaker 1: with the Lore, So we were doing a lot of

461
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:18,040
Speaker 1: buckets with Gentimen the Lore, and a lot of suits

462
00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:21,800
Speaker 1: with Gentimen Thelore, and a lot of contrast stitching so

463
00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:24,600
Speaker 1: that it would match up with the Timberlain. So all

464
00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:28,199
Speaker 1: of these things became like we caught on like a fire.

465
00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:31,800
Speaker 1: It just started like people would ask for the same things.

466
00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:36,000
Speaker 1: So that became our proof of concept and that's what

467
00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:39,160
Speaker 1: led us to believe we need to do our own

468
00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:41,280
Speaker 1: line and just go for it.

469
00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:44,560
Speaker 2: April did decide to go for it and created her

470
00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:48,520
Speaker 2: eponymous brand, walker Wear. At the same time, another pivotal

471
00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,080
Speaker 2: member of the Walkerware team was about to enter the fold.

472
00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:55,959
Speaker 7: I grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts, and I was able

473
00:25:56,040 --> 00:26:00,000
Speaker 7: to go to New York often and dance on broadways.

474
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:02,720
Speaker 2: This is Kim your Range, an assistant to April and

475
00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:05,240
Speaker 2: eventually the head of marketing and promotion for Walkerware.

476
00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:09,520
Speaker 7: I danced from three to probably fifteen years old, so

477
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:13,760
Speaker 7: I really had some opportunities that I did not realize

478
00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:18,080
Speaker 7: was not a normal thing growing up until you.

479
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,720
Speaker 1: Know, I got to college, I think, and.

480
00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:24,520
Speaker 7: Really started to meet people from all over. Then I

481
00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:28,480
Speaker 7: went on to University of Massachusetts. That's where I met

482
00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:34,080
Speaker 7: my friend m J who introduced me to the Walker family,

483
00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:38,560
Speaker 7: and that's how I started connecting with April and we

484
00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:42,760
Speaker 7: started going to New York for our spring breaks, and

485
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:48,160
Speaker 7: that's how my connection to Walkerware began. When we started

486
00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:51,159
Speaker 7: going to New York. At that time, her business was

487
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:55,679
Speaker 7: fashion and effect. I got to assist on a photo

488
00:26:55,720 --> 00:27:00,479
Speaker 7: shoot she was working on. She definitely takes the time

489
00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:04,800
Speaker 7: to teach you each moment to teach a bo moment

490
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:08,760
Speaker 7: with her, because you know, she could definitely if she

491
00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:10,320
Speaker 7: wanted to.

492
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,600
Speaker 1: Eat, sleep, and drink the business.

493
00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:16,320
Speaker 7: So then a couple of years later she started to

494
00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:21,600
Speaker 7: build Walkerware, and when I had graduated from college, I

495
00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:25,480
Speaker 7: had the opportunity to move to New York City and

496
00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:31,400
Speaker 7: then was able to support her in the Walkerware journey.

497
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:33,800
Speaker 2: Can you move to New York and brought with her

498
00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,600
Speaker 2: some experience that would be pivotal to the growth of Walkerware.

499
00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:40,320
Speaker 7: I was just coming off of a job working with

500
00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:46,760
Speaker 7: Russell Stover's Candies, and I had learned how to be

501
00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:51,080
Speaker 7: organized because for me, I had not had a supervisor

502
00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:52,680
Speaker 7: that lived in.

503
00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:54,040
Speaker 1: The same state as me.

504
00:27:54,600 --> 00:27:57,920
Speaker 7: I was fortunate to get a car with this job,

505
00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:00,560
Speaker 7: so that was pretty much my office, where my foul

506
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:04,200
Speaker 7: cabinets was in the trunk of the car. So my

507
00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:10,640
Speaker 7: organization in that sales realm was very key. And then

508
00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:14,640
Speaker 7: being able to take over if necessary, like when April

509
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:18,560
Speaker 7: wasn't available to be in a place, especially like with

510
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:22,760
Speaker 7: some styling job opportunities there. I was able to step

511
00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:25,080
Speaker 7: in also even with buyers.

512
00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:28,400
Speaker 6: Have that conversation with Walker Ware.

513
00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:30,920
Speaker 2: April's goal was to spread the brand beyond the confines

514
00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:33,240
Speaker 2: of a brick and mortar store. So, Kim, you began

515
00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:35,600
Speaker 2: to oversee marketing and took a page from the music

516
00:28:35,640 --> 00:28:36,560
Speaker 2: industry playbook.

517
00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:41,240
Speaker 7: That was the whole goal is, you know, promotions, sales,

518
00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:44,760
Speaker 7: all the connections for the marketing of the brand.

519
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:47,080
Speaker 1: It pretty much.

520
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:52,840
Speaker 7: Consisted of marketing this closing line like it was a record.

521
00:28:54,640 --> 00:28:55,760
Speaker 1: Label, I remember.

522
00:28:56,040 --> 00:28:59,200
Speaker 7: So we just pretty much was taken to the streets,

523
00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:02,640
Speaker 7: you know, like this street teams. It was a bunch

524
00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:08,200
Speaker 7: of dedicated young people, pretty much interns that would get

525
00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:12,800
Speaker 7: out there at the different events and pretty much flood

526
00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:17,840
Speaker 7: the areas with all the different promotions that were going on.

527
00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:22,200
Speaker 7: We would get behind the bad Boy Street Team. They'd

528
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:26,400
Speaker 7: be on the big megaphone shouting out bad Boy, and

529
00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:28,840
Speaker 7: I would just tap him on the shoulder and ask

530
00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:32,640
Speaker 7: them to shout out walk Away as well. So just

531
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:37,480
Speaker 7: again taking advantage of opportunity with the relationships that we

532
00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:38,600
Speaker 7: were building out there.

533
00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:44,200
Speaker 1: Keimya was excellent. She was on that same page. She

534
00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:47,520
Speaker 1: was great at marketing and sales. She was a people's person.

535
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,880
Speaker 1: She built up relationships. She was really good. I could

536
00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:53,840
Speaker 1: pass the ball to her and then she would cultivate

537
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,719
Speaker 1: those relationships because at one point I just got really

538
00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:02,120
Speaker 1: busy as we were surfling. Up were my responsibilities. So

539
00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:05,000
Speaker 1: that's where Kimya came in to play with the marketing,

540
00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,840
Speaker 1: the PR and really dealing with people.

541
00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:13,560
Speaker 2: With Kimmia on the ground handling marketing NYC. Other opportunities

542
00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,080
Speaker 2: across the country started to pop up, like a job

543
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:18,719
Speaker 2: for a certain West Coast MC that would put Gloria

544
00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:20,080
Speaker 2: through a whirlwind of a weekend.

545
00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,320
Speaker 5: All I remember is April Quala being like, Yo, there's

546
00:30:27,320 --> 00:30:30,560
Speaker 5: a jet leaving in like two hours. We need everybody

547
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:33,320
Speaker 5: at the house, you know, with a bag coop. You

548
00:30:33,320 --> 00:30:35,840
Speaker 5: gotta fly to La and do this video shoot.

549
00:30:35,960 --> 00:30:38,160
Speaker 6: And it was there was no question. You're just was

550
00:30:38,240 --> 00:30:38,840
Speaker 6: like okay.

551
00:30:39,080 --> 00:30:42,200
Speaker 5: You know, it becomes that common space where it's not

552
00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:44,360
Speaker 5: just like limits just being in New York. You know

553
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,520
Speaker 5: what I'm saying is a video shoot. We you know,

554
00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:49,000
Speaker 5: got tasked for the style of job. I can't remember

555
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:52,000
Speaker 5: what Phombi was, but there was a song with Pop

556
00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:55,640
Speaker 5: Casey and Jojo. We got to squeeze into a limousine

557
00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:56,760
Speaker 5: with sub Knight and pop.

558
00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:00,000
Speaker 6: It's me Jackie April, you know what I'm saying.

559
00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:02,440
Speaker 5: And this guy's a big guy and they looking at

560
00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:05,960
Speaker 5: me like you the youngest. You gotta sit and foot

561
00:31:06,040 --> 00:31:09,320
Speaker 5: is on my lap the whole ride, you know, from

562
00:31:09,680 --> 00:31:13,560
Speaker 5: Clinton Hills to some private runway in Jersey and I'm

563
00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:16,080
Speaker 5: sitting there like a punk. It doesn't pay being the

564
00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:19,120
Speaker 5: new beat in this situation, you know what I'm saying.

565
00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,720
Speaker 5: But this is the work, you know, all right? So

566
00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:25,560
Speaker 5: we touched ground that to Melleblee. They set us up

567
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:27,880
Speaker 5: for the night next day, spent the whole day shopping

568
00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:30,040
Speaker 5: to shoot a video on the beach.

569
00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:31,000
Speaker 1: It was like.

570
00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:33,120
Speaker 6: Seventy two hours from hell, you know what I'm saying.

571
00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:35,560
Speaker 5: It just like getting it in, doing the work, blah

572
00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:37,720
Speaker 5: blah blah, and then on a plane back to New York,

573
00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:39,720
Speaker 5: like this is what needed to be done, this is

574
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:42,440
Speaker 5: what we had to do, and there was no questions asked.

575
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:46,400
Speaker 5: So those eleventh hour industry calls, it was like normal

576
00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:49,560
Speaker 5: stuff that just happened, because that's how the industry ran,

577
00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:50,080
Speaker 5: you know.

578
00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:56,440
Speaker 2: The co signs from artists like Chupac and Viggie walk

579
00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:58,760
Speaker 2: Away had become a premier brand in hip hop and

580
00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:01,160
Speaker 2: soon it would become more the most desired street wear

581
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:03,120
Speaker 2: brands for celebrities all over the world.

582
00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:06,280
Speaker 7: There are so many different people, even, you know, with

583
00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:09,720
Speaker 7: the Lea, we worked with her doing her first video

584
00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:13,920
Speaker 7: and her photo shoot, being able to place some walk

585
00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:15,520
Speaker 7: Aware products on her.

586
00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:18,880
Speaker 1: And then Gary Payton we did a whole shoot with

587
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:20,640
Speaker 1: him with the SuperSonics.

588
00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:25,240
Speaker 7: I remember making some pants for Shaq for All.

589
00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:28,280
Speaker 1: Star Mike Tyson. He wore our stuff in the ring.

590
00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:31,440
Speaker 1: That was probably one of our biggest collapse. I became

591
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:37,280
Speaker 1: the first American designer besides sports like they were doing Everlast,

592
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:40,160
Speaker 1: but as a designer, I was the first to hit

593
00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:43,160
Speaker 1: the heavyweight ring. So that was really a big moment

594
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:47,480
Speaker 1: in Walkaware's career. He was famous for wearing his towel out,

595
00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:50,560
Speaker 1: but he wore a towel with the W W double

596
00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:53,920
Speaker 1: XL on it and the shorts and the sneakers, so

597
00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:55,000
Speaker 1: it was huge, you know.

598
00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:58,600
Speaker 7: It was just amazing, I think for me seeing a

599
00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:03,560
Speaker 7: bad boy. When they had their first advertisement in Billboard

600
00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:07,560
Speaker 7: and it was in the McDonald's setup and it was

601
00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:12,000
Speaker 7: Craig Mack had on the Walkaware hockey jersey and it

602
00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:14,880
Speaker 7: was Puffy and Biggie in that ad.

603
00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:16,800
Speaker 1: That was amazing.

604
00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:19,840
Speaker 7: Because that was one of my first placements for Walkaware.

605
00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:22,680
Speaker 7: So it's like, you don't know where to end up,

606
00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:26,280
Speaker 7: but when it does, it's like wow. But it's the

607
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:29,240
Speaker 7: relationship because they had to pick it up and say

608
00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:30,280
Speaker 7: this is what I'm aware.

609
00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:34,200
Speaker 2: So it seemed like Walkerware was being worn by every celebrity.

610
00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:37,440
Speaker 2: Behind the scenes, the finances remained a struggle. This battle

611
00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:40,240
Speaker 2: between creating for fun and creating for profits was taking

612
00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:40,840
Speaker 2: a toll on.

613
00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:45,880
Speaker 1: April the nineties, the Golden era was so magnetic, it

614
00:33:45,960 --> 00:33:48,720
Speaker 1: was so electric, and it was magical. And then at

615
00:33:48,760 --> 00:33:51,920
Speaker 1: the same time, I started when I was twenty one,

616
00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:56,480
Speaker 1: and it literally was like eighteen hour days. I want

617
00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:58,840
Speaker 1: to say six days a week, but it might have

618
00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:03,120
Speaker 1: been even seven times. And then we started growing. Our

619
00:34:03,160 --> 00:34:08,600
Speaker 1: growth accelerated fast, and there were a few almost deals,

620
00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:11,560
Speaker 1: you know, where I did licensing and it fell through

621
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:15,239
Speaker 1: or it didn't happen. So I was independent. I've been

622
00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:19,520
Speaker 1: independent my whole life, but you can imagine financially, it

623
00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:22,719
Speaker 1: was a huge burden and blessing. And then I had

624
00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:26,400
Speaker 1: a mass of staff. So I had a lot so

625
00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:32,359
Speaker 1: starting from a creative lens to becoming management and leadership

626
00:34:32,920 --> 00:34:35,879
Speaker 1: and not being able to do as much creative as

627
00:34:35,920 --> 00:34:40,160
Speaker 1: you want because now you're running a whole corporation, making

628
00:34:40,200 --> 00:34:44,760
Speaker 1: all these decisions, learning about licensing, learning about production, learning

629
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:49,000
Speaker 1: about marketing, learning all these different things. I was at

630
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,360
Speaker 1: the helm of that universe, and then I was watching

631
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:57,440
Speaker 1: the actual industry unfold, and if I'm honest, it became

632
00:34:57,520 --> 00:35:01,520
Speaker 1: something I didn't like. Over time, it just really became

633
00:35:01,600 --> 00:35:02,360
Speaker 1: about the money.

634
00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:06,160
Speaker 7: The downfall might have been not having as much money

635
00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:10,200
Speaker 7: as you'd like to have, but eventually.

636
00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:10,600
Speaker 1: The money came.

637
00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:12,920
Speaker 7: But I think that was probably the downfall.

638
00:35:13,400 --> 00:35:14,520
Speaker 1: We were so young.

639
00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:17,960
Speaker 7: I just think we were just for me, not being

640
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:19,680
Speaker 7: from New York being.

641
00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:24,400
Speaker 1: Able to be in that element. Urban fashion became oversaturated,

642
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:29,120
Speaker 1: buyers became groupies, Artists wanted in I have no problems

643
00:35:29,239 --> 00:35:33,560
Speaker 1: with music artists becoming their own brands and wanting to

644
00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:38,000
Speaker 1: monetize every aspect of their business. But if you're going

645
00:35:38,080 --> 00:35:40,480
Speaker 1: to do that, you have to take it serious and

646
00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,960
Speaker 1: create the teams around it that understand those industries so

647
00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:47,319
Speaker 1: you can be taken serious. And at that time, I'll

648
00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:49,640
Speaker 1: say that some of that was not happening. A lot

649
00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:52,800
Speaker 1: of that was not happening, and so as a result,

650
00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:56,080
Speaker 1: it was hurting the industry because it truly became a

651
00:35:56,160 --> 00:36:01,800
Speaker 1: numbers game. Fashion designers that you really had awesome designs

652
00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:06,399
Speaker 1: for being overlooked. It was so lights camera action that

653
00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:11,319
Speaker 1: there was little substance, but the hype without substance, it's

654
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:14,400
Speaker 1: not sustainable. And I saw the beginning of the incoming

655
00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:18,680
Speaker 1: and that along with becoming burnt out over time. By

656
00:36:18,719 --> 00:36:22,640
Speaker 1: the time ninety nine hit, people felt like I was

657
00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:24,799
Speaker 1: at the top of my game because it looked like

658
00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:29,400
Speaker 1: that from the outside, but I was miserable. I felt

659
00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,239
Speaker 1: the weight of the world on my shoulder. I had

660
00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:36,640
Speaker 1: a New York office, a New York show room, Vegas

661
00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:39,520
Speaker 1: had an LA It was just a lot going on,

662
00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:44,080
Speaker 1: and I was tired. I was really tired. I was

663
00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:47,640
Speaker 1: almost afraid to walk away because April Walker was so

664
00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:53,480
Speaker 1: ingrained at the point with walk Away like synonymous, and

665
00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:57,799
Speaker 1: I was like, what would I do after? But that's

666
00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:00,880
Speaker 1: why I had to walk away. I need to breathe,

667
00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:04,799
Speaker 1: and I needed to know that's just what I did

668
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:07,640
Speaker 1: and that I could be good without it, because I

669
00:37:07,719 --> 00:37:11,319
Speaker 1: wasn't really happy at that point. I was definitely to

670
00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:15,200
Speaker 1: the world in perception winning, but winning has a different

671
00:37:15,280 --> 00:37:18,319
Speaker 1: meaning for me. I'm real clear, I'm not now, and

672
00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:22,480
Speaker 1: at that time it was becoming great and I wanted

673
00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:26,680
Speaker 1: to really have clarity. So I made the decision at

674
00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:31,160
Speaker 1: the height of the brand to just take pause, pause,

675
00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:35,200
Speaker 1: Let's just pause and really like breathe. I knew I

676
00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:37,760
Speaker 1: wasn't taking care of myself. I wasn't doing the things

677
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:40,919
Speaker 1: I was supposed to. It was a lot given all

678
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:44,160
Speaker 1: of this time and energy to the love of my business,

679
00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:47,680
Speaker 1: but I was out of sync with the alignment of myself,

680
00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:49,360
Speaker 1: my mind, my body, and my soul.

681
00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:53,080
Speaker 2: So I chose that with walk Away on Hold, April

682
00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:56,799
Speaker 2: found opportunities working with other brands, but more importantly, she

683
00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:59,279
Speaker 2: finally put her own health and wellness, both physical and

684
00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:00,440
Speaker 2: mental first.

685
00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:03,960
Speaker 1: I paused walk Away and put it on the shelf,

686
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:06,480
Speaker 1: and then did some things I always wanted to try.

687
00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:10,080
Speaker 1: So by this time I knew licensing really well. I

688
00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:13,399
Speaker 1: did a bunch of stuff, and then in the interim

689
00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:15,400
Speaker 1: of all of that stuff, I got a lot of rest.

690
00:38:16,080 --> 00:38:19,160
Speaker 1: I think ninety nine to two thousand and I was

691
00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:23,520
Speaker 1: the vice president at that farm with Russell Simmons and

692
00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:29,600
Speaker 1: really was overseeing all of his licenses. So me navigating

693
00:38:29,640 --> 00:38:34,520
Speaker 1: through all of these different licensees and contracts and magic,

694
00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:38,000
Speaker 1: it was just a whole different lens that helped me grow.

695
00:38:38,160 --> 00:38:42,799
Speaker 1: And then from there I went to AND one and

696
00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:46,399
Speaker 1: I developed a woman's line for AND One. From there,

697
00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:49,799
Speaker 1: I did some costume war droveing, and I did some

698
00:38:49,880 --> 00:38:53,920
Speaker 1: merchandising with Errika Badu. And these were projects that I

699
00:38:53,960 --> 00:38:58,120
Speaker 1: did in between finding myself and having conversations with God

700
00:38:58,239 --> 00:39:01,680
Speaker 1: and just taking breaks and getting into nature and really

701
00:39:01,719 --> 00:39:05,960
Speaker 1: embracing my spirituality and really figuring out why I got

702
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,840
Speaker 1: to the point of burnout, why I had to walk away.

703
00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:13,719
Speaker 1: I feel like I really had really grown spiritually and

704
00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:17,479
Speaker 1: got to a good place of really nourishing my mind,

705
00:39:17,600 --> 00:39:21,680
Speaker 1: my body, my soul, and it was great. So I

706
00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:26,400
Speaker 1: started consulting and that's literally how a walker group started.

707
00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:31,680
Speaker 1: So really cool projects, all very different, but one thing

708
00:39:31,719 --> 00:39:34,640
Speaker 1: I realized what consulting is. You can consult and they

709
00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:37,680
Speaker 1: can pay you, but when clients don't take your advice,

710
00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:40,919
Speaker 1: it's very frustrating and you see them hitting the wall

711
00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:44,200
Speaker 1: and you're like, oh, if I only had my own brand,

712
00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:48,880
Speaker 1: and I realized I do, and that is what inspired

713
00:39:48,920 --> 00:39:53,960
Speaker 1: me to start walk Away again. That with the fact

714
00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:57,800
Speaker 1: that we're in the digital era and I could really

715
00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:02,120
Speaker 1: manage my stress, I could create the life I wanted to.

716
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:05,879
Speaker 1: I could really do all the things. I could sell

717
00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:09,839
Speaker 1: one piece or one thousand pieces at a time. It's

718
00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:12,040
Speaker 1: just how fast I want to put my foot on

719
00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:15,040
Speaker 1: the gas pedal because you can really write your own

720
00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:19,680
Speaker 1: ticket and story. With the internet now, direct to consumer

721
00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:23,280
Speaker 1: has changed the game for all creators. And that's literally

722
00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:26,400
Speaker 1: how I looked at it. Once I saw what social

723
00:40:26,440 --> 00:40:29,719
Speaker 1: media and the Internet could do, I said, I want

724
00:40:29,719 --> 00:40:35,400
Speaker 1: to start creating again. And that's how it started. So

725
00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:38,960
Speaker 1: I think at two and eleven I started privately started

726
00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:44,000
Speaker 1: doing product development, and by I think twenty twelve, twenty

727
00:40:44,160 --> 00:40:47,960
Speaker 1: and thirteen, that's when I started really showing it again.

728
00:40:48,239 --> 00:40:52,000
Speaker 1: It was a big learning curve because I didn't beat

729
00:40:52,040 --> 00:40:56,600
Speaker 1: my chest until about maybe two thousand and fifteen and sixteen.

730
00:40:56,640 --> 00:40:58,680
Speaker 1: We were selling, we were doing pop ups, we were

731
00:40:58,719 --> 00:41:01,640
Speaker 1: doing different things or again, and I had to go

732
00:41:01,719 --> 00:41:05,880
Speaker 1: through about three different web developers because you know, it

733
00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:07,960
Speaker 1: was new, it was new for me and it was

734
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:11,480
Speaker 1: still newer than it is now. I didn't even know

735
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:15,200
Speaker 1: about Shopify things like that, which is the ended up

736
00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:19,240
Speaker 1: being our you know, server for where we do our business.

737
00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:22,640
Speaker 1: At that time, I just wanted to automate everything that

738
00:41:22,760 --> 00:41:26,439
Speaker 1: I could, because coming back I wanted to be lean

739
00:41:26,520 --> 00:41:28,719
Speaker 1: and mean and walk away was not going to be

740
00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:31,799
Speaker 1: the only thing that I did. It was very inspiring

741
00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:35,239
Speaker 1: to be able to create again. When I got on

742
00:41:35,280 --> 00:41:37,560
Speaker 1: social media. There were people from all over the world

743
00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:41,560
Speaker 1: that were hitting us like, hey, thank you for your contributions,

744
00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:46,200
Speaker 1: y'alla y'all and really just really gracious and accolades and

745
00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:49,839
Speaker 1: remembering me. And then I realized how cool the tool

746
00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:52,719
Speaker 1: could be if I learned it. So part of me

747
00:41:53,200 --> 00:41:57,760
Speaker 1: creating was one thing, but also challenging myself to step

748
00:41:57,800 --> 00:42:02,239
Speaker 1: into social media, into technology and embrace it as part

749
00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:05,719
Speaker 1: of business was another. To learn it because I had

750
00:42:05,760 --> 00:42:09,040
Speaker 1: the experience, but if I could grab the technology and

751
00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:12,760
Speaker 1: marry that, I feel like I had an advantage because

752
00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:16,440
Speaker 1: I have a real story with a lot of history.

753
00:42:16,680 --> 00:42:19,560
Speaker 2: Social media had changed the fashion industry. In order to

754
00:42:19,600 --> 00:42:22,680
Speaker 2: catch up, April do what she's always done, surrounded herself

755
00:42:22,680 --> 00:42:25,200
Speaker 2: with young creatives who would act as reverse mentors.

756
00:42:28,600 --> 00:42:32,239
Speaker 1: The fashion industry when I started. It wasn't an industry

757
00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:35,600
Speaker 1: when I started. Now there are so many different players,

758
00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:39,800
Speaker 1: so that part was different, and they are way more distractions.

759
00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:43,960
Speaker 1: That's different where you were networking a lot more. I

760
00:42:44,040 --> 00:42:46,920
Speaker 1: was a lot younger, so I was write that trial

761
00:42:47,680 --> 00:42:50,880
Speaker 1: like I knew it inside out. It's different now, you know,

762
00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:53,680
Speaker 1: I have to do way more work to know it.

763
00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:59,000
Speaker 1: And I really believe in reverse mentorship because I think

764
00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:02,600
Speaker 1: that we all can grow from each other generations. Why

765
00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:05,960
Speaker 1: so I keep young people around me because they keep

766
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:08,440
Speaker 1: me informed and I get to know how their minds

767
00:43:08,480 --> 00:43:09,120
Speaker 1: so thinking.

768
00:43:09,480 --> 00:43:12,960
Speaker 8: And I knew April before the high school. April was

769
00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:16,719
Speaker 8: you know April. I always call her the mayor of Brooklyn.

770
00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:19,680
Speaker 2: This is Miles Hopkins and assisted for April at the

771
00:43:19,719 --> 00:43:21,239
Speaker 2: revived Walkerware.

772
00:43:21,239 --> 00:43:24,680
Speaker 8: And she doesn't agree, but I always find it funny.

773
00:43:24,719 --> 00:43:28,640
Speaker 8: It's like a little joke between us. April knows everybody,

774
00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:33,440
Speaker 8: and April and my mom actually go back since they

775
00:43:33,480 --> 00:43:36,600
Speaker 8: were kids. They kind of grew up in the same neighborhood.

776
00:43:36,920 --> 00:43:40,600
Speaker 8: I didn't really know about the Walkerware side of things

777
00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:43,200
Speaker 8: until I got older, because you know, as a kid,

778
00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:45,839
Speaker 8: it was just somebody that I know through my mom.

779
00:43:46,239 --> 00:43:48,759
Speaker 8: Walkerware was just one of those things that when I

780
00:43:48,800 --> 00:43:50,879
Speaker 8: did finally like get to know, I was just very

781
00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:55,560
Speaker 8: shocked by how many people wore it. April is one

782
00:43:55,560 --> 00:43:59,200
Speaker 8: of those people that's like extremely humble, but people will

783
00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:02,200
Speaker 8: run up to her on the streets and just you know,

784
00:44:02,320 --> 00:44:05,440
Speaker 8: tell her like how much she means to the community

785
00:44:05,480 --> 00:44:07,680
Speaker 8: of fashion and just like to the world. Like her

786
00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:11,160
Speaker 8: imprint not only on fashion but just on the world

787
00:44:11,280 --> 00:44:14,560
Speaker 8: is amazing. And the fact that people just recognize it

788
00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:20,080
Speaker 8: years later. April believes in reverse mentorship, and like that's

789
00:44:20,160 --> 00:44:23,359
Speaker 8: kind of the way that Walkerware has been successful over

790
00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:26,879
Speaker 8: all those years because April really listens to her customers

791
00:44:26,920 --> 00:44:28,040
Speaker 8: and the people around her.

792
00:44:31,800 --> 00:44:34,279
Speaker 2: Sue Miles was setting up photo shoots for April, and

793
00:44:34,320 --> 00:44:37,320
Speaker 2: by bringing in young creatives to guide her, Walkerware continues

794
00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:38,320
Speaker 2: to be ahead of the curve.

795
00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:41,719
Speaker 8: I got a chance to more so like curate a

796
00:44:41,719 --> 00:44:45,280
Speaker 8: lot of our photo shoots with some of our younger talent,

797
00:44:45,480 --> 00:44:50,080
Speaker 8: Like I worked with guys like Nico Brimm, Jordan Beckford, CJ.

798
00:44:50,280 --> 00:44:52,240
Speaker 6: Wallace and Josh Russa.

799
00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:55,080
Speaker 8: I also want to say for you guys, like please

800
00:44:55,160 --> 00:44:58,040
Speaker 8: keep those guys like on the map for you they're

801
00:44:58,600 --> 00:45:01,560
Speaker 8: very interesting young gentlem men and they're on the rise.

802
00:45:02,239 --> 00:45:04,680
Speaker 8: Not only did I just do the photo shoots and

803
00:45:04,680 --> 00:45:07,239
Speaker 8: like kind of curate them and see to it that

804
00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:09,600
Speaker 8: they would get done. I did a lot of Instagram

805
00:45:09,640 --> 00:45:13,520
Speaker 8: outreach to some of our other like younger followers, and

806
00:45:13,560 --> 00:45:16,520
Speaker 8: we just tried to find people that aligned a little

807
00:45:16,560 --> 00:45:19,440
Speaker 8: bit more with our brand. It's so surreal to just

808
00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:23,759
Speaker 8: see how much like people really genuinely like gravitate towards

809
00:45:23,840 --> 00:45:26,840
Speaker 8: the brand once they meet the owner. You know, April

810
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:30,200
Speaker 8: is like one of the most authentic people on the planet.

811
00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:33,040
Speaker 8: So no matter who you are, she you know, she

812
00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:34,279
Speaker 8: always gives you love.

813
00:45:34,840 --> 00:45:38,360
Speaker 2: As April continues the mentor and reverse mentor, she's always

814
00:45:38,360 --> 00:45:41,560
Speaker 2: ready to offer advice to the younger generation of entrepreneurs.

815
00:45:42,040 --> 00:45:45,280
Speaker 1: I would tell my younger self as an entrepreneur, study

816
00:45:45,320 --> 00:45:48,960
Speaker 1: your money and understand that this is a business. Because

817
00:45:49,040 --> 00:45:52,160
Speaker 1: most of us are creative. We cannot take the attitude

818
00:45:52,200 --> 00:45:54,839
Speaker 1: of its creative and we'll get to the business later. Oh,

819
00:45:54,880 --> 00:45:58,480
Speaker 1: I'll just hire people for that. No, understand that this

820
00:45:58,520 --> 00:46:02,680
Speaker 1: is a business. Study money. Don't be the smartest person

821
00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:06,000
Speaker 1: in the world. You want to surround yourself by people

822
00:46:06,120 --> 00:46:09,240
Speaker 1: that are smarter than you and will make you stand

823
00:46:09,360 --> 00:46:13,880
Speaker 1: on your tippy toes so that you can continue to grow,

824
00:46:13,880 --> 00:46:17,440
Speaker 1: to elevate, to empower each other, and to lift up

825
00:46:17,440 --> 00:46:24,399
Speaker 1: your tribe. At the same time, as a.

826
00:46:24,320 --> 00:46:27,640
Speaker 2: April looks to the future, the mission remains the same, teach,

827
00:46:27,920 --> 00:46:30,800
Speaker 2: learn and empower the next generation of creatives.

828
00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:33,880
Speaker 1: Walk Away as a legacy brand, I want to continue

829
00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:38,719
Speaker 1: that creating. We have some really cool collaborations set up.

830
00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:42,040
Speaker 1: Next year is fifty years in hip Hop, so I'm

831
00:46:42,040 --> 00:46:44,759
Speaker 1: going to be doing a collaboration with Universal Hip Hop

832
00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:47,759
Speaker 1: Museum and some other cool collapse I can't really talk

833
00:46:47,800 --> 00:46:51,799
Speaker 1: about yet, but you'll see those. I'm starting a digital academy,

834
00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:57,000
Speaker 1: really excited about that because it's for makers, entrepreneurs, creators,

835
00:46:57,239 --> 00:47:02,000
Speaker 1: and they really hands on experience. So just really the

836
00:47:02,080 --> 00:47:05,320
Speaker 1: thing that I'm passionate about is impacting as many people

837
00:47:05,360 --> 00:47:07,799
Speaker 1: as I can with the experience I have while I'm

838
00:47:07,880 --> 00:47:11,799
Speaker 1: visiting this earth, you know. And so that's my trajectory

839
00:47:11,880 --> 00:47:13,040
Speaker 1: work moving forward.

840
00:47:16,040 --> 00:47:19,920
Speaker 2: Walkerwaar's story is one of true entrepreneurship, creativity, and dedication

841
00:47:20,040 --> 00:47:22,680
Speaker 2: to the culture. When April wanted a space to celebrate

842
00:47:22,719 --> 00:47:24,799
Speaker 2: the hip hop world she loved, she went out and

843
00:47:24,800 --> 00:47:27,799
Speaker 2: got her own store. When she desired new designs, she

844
00:47:27,880 --> 00:47:31,040
Speaker 2: created her own line Along the Way. April assembled a

845
00:47:31,080 --> 00:47:34,120
Speaker 2: team of all Stars and Gloria and Kimya, and continues

846
00:47:34,160 --> 00:47:36,920
Speaker 2: her mentorship today by helping young creatives.

847
00:47:36,440 --> 00:47:38,560
Speaker 1: Like Miles.

848
00:47:39,200 --> 00:47:41,720
Speaker 2: And Through it all, the north Star has always remained

849
00:47:41,760 --> 00:47:44,440
Speaker 2: hip hop, creating a space for her tribe to be seen,

850
00:47:44,800 --> 00:47:58,080
Speaker 2: heard and worn her Idea Generation. I'm Noah Callahan Bever.

851
00:47:58,360 --> 00:48:01,160
Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to the All Angles Pod presented by

852
00:48:01,200 --> 00:48:06,120
Speaker 2: will Packer Media. If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't

853
00:48:06,120 --> 00:48:09,239
Speaker 2: hesitate to like, comment DM, or tell a friend to

854
00:48:09,320 --> 00:48:12,800
Speaker 2: tell a friend about Idea Generation and the All Angles Podcast.

855
00:48:13,840 --> 00:48:16,759
Speaker 2: This episode was brought to you by Will Packer Executive

856
00:48:16,760 --> 00:48:20,160
Speaker 2: produced by John Valachick and Helena Os, Original music by

857
00:48:20,239 --> 00:48:24,040
Speaker 2: Valentine Fritz, edit and sound mixed by Nonsensible Production, and

858
00:48:24,120 --> 00:48:29,800
Speaker 2: hosted by me Idea Generation founder Noah Callahan Bever. Idea

859
00:48:29,840 --> 00:48:32,680
Speaker 2: Generations All Angles is a Will Packer Media podcast